The Adventures of the Jade
Dragon
Episode 7
Chapter
16
Bargain
Li Mei frowned, her delicately
arched eyebrows coming closer together.
This wasn’t exactly the sort of clothing she would have chosen
to wear, but there wasn’t much
choice. She either wore the only
garments provided or went naked.
She pulled on the loose-fitting diaphanous
pantaloons. It was more like
harem attire than real clothing.
She shrugged. At least
the size was right. Reaching
into the drawer she took out a gossamer blouse and slipped it
on. “Might as well be almost
naked,” she thought. The
clothes were obviously intended to titillate rather than
conceal.
The sound of a key turning in the lock caused her gut to twist in
fear. She backed away from the
door, alert for any chance to escape.
There wasn’t any. Chen stood
there, but behind him were several other thugs and they were all armed with
revolvers that were pointed at her.
“Bastard,” thought Li
Mei. “Too
gutless to take me on alone.”
“Good morning Black Leopard,” the big Chinese said, “I’m
glad you have made yourself
presentable.” He licked
his lips. Her hair shone like
polished ebony and every detail of her magnificent body could be seen through
her semi-transparent garments.
There was a faint hint of perfume.
She had apparently availed herself of the toiletries provided
her. He doubted that there was
a more desirable woman anywhere.
Even with the stripes of her flogging decorating her body the Black
Leopard was incredibly beautiful.
“Go to Hell, you gutless worm,” Li Mei
spat. “Get rid of your trained
dogs and their guns and I’d rip you
apart.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” said Chen, rolling his powerful shoulders,
“but I’ve been ordered to bring you to Zhuang
unharmed. He would like to invite
you for breakfast.” He motioned
with his head.
Li Mei resigned herself to her fate.
There wasn’t much she could do about
it. If she refused to cooperate
she would just be dragged from the cell, and she was no match for five armed
men. Not unless she could get
close enough to get past their guns and she doubted they would let her do
that.
Most of the men backed away as she stepped from the cell, but three, including
Chen surrounded her. They took
her arms, and forcing them behind her back and locked
her wrists together with a pair of
handcuffs. Li Mei’s heart
rate increased. She was now quite
helpless against even a weak opponent, and her helplessness increased as
irons were added to her ankles.
She felt as if she was marching to her execution as she was led to her meeting
with Zhuang. What more did the
bastard want with her? Hadn’t
he tortured her enough?
Probably
not. She wondered what
she would do if their positions were reversed and she had him in her
power. It was a delightful
thought.
Her musings were interrupted as they entered Zhuang’s private
quarters. He was sprawled on
his divan as usual, but for a change was not filling his face with
food.
“Ah, Black
Leopard.
Welcome. Please join me
for breakfast.” He motioned
toward a chair set in front of a low
table. It was set with a meal
large enough to feed a dozen men.
Chen guided her toward the chair.
Once seated he unlocked her right wrist and, pulling
the manacle down, clicked it on to the shackles holding her
ankles. It left Li
Mei’s right hand free so that she would be
able to eat.
Zhuang pushed a bowl toward her and removed the lid, revealing a steaming
mound of white rice. “Start
with this,” he said, spooning a quantity of it into a
bowl. Li Mei’s mouth
watered. She had not eaten since
being taken prisoner, but she was quite suspicious of Zhuang’s
hospitality. Why was he suddenly
treating her so well? And why
had he provided only the filmy harem outfit she was wearing?
Li Mei expertly used her chopsticks to carry a few grains of rice to her
mouth. She forced herself to
chew slowly, trying to steady her nerves.
“Try this,” said Zhuang pushing another bowl toward
her. “It is the finest sea
urchin marinated in rice wine. I
think you will find it most delectable.”
Li Mei picked up the proffered delicacy.
It was as Zhuang had said an exquisite
morsel. The obese crimelord pushed
another bowl toward her.
“Prawns stewed in oyster sauce,” he
offered.
One after the other Zhuang presented each dish to her, while at the same
time helping himself to sumptuous
portions. It was far more food
than she could eat and she soon reached her
limit. Zhuang continued to eat
after she was finished, but at the same time began to question
her.
Between bites Zhuang studied the exquisitely beautiful across from
him. He could see every detail
of her supple body, from the dark pink of her nipples to the ebony V between
her legs. Her dark eyes were
deep pools of mystery. Only the
slightly cruel twist of her bow shaped lips detracted from her perfect
features. But that was not a
defect in Zhuang’s opinion.
What a consort she would make!
If only he could convince her to throw in her lot with
his.
“Now to business,” said Zhuang.
“As you are aware, you are entirely within my
power. I could do with you as
I wish, and I may before I am through.
Let me assure you that what I have planned for you will not be pleasant,
unless I receive answers from you that please me.”
Li Mei did not answer, but kept her face
expressionless. Finally Zhuang
was getting to the point. She
knew that he wanted something.
There was no other way to explain his changed treatment of
her.
“I first want an explanation.
My doctor has examined the Jade Dragon and her friend
Scorpion. They are both pregnant
as you no doubt intended. The
interesting thing is that
each of them is about
three months into term. I would
like to know how you managed that.”
Li Mei smiled inwardly. If she
had not been in Zhuang’s presence she would have shouted in
triumph. Retinoff’s drug
had done it. The haughty heroines
were not only pregnant, but the child within each of them was growing at
an accelerated speed as he had promised.
“They were injected with a fetal accelerant,” she replied
smugly. “Each day that passes
is equivalent to two months of normal fetal growth.”
Zhuang nodded. “But will
not such abnormal growth prove harmful to the
fetus? What kind of children
will they have?”
The Black Leopard could not resist a
sneer. “I’m little
concerned with what sort of monster each of them might
conceive. As a matter of fact
I’m looking forward to seeing the
birth.” She stopped suddenly,
realizing that she had given away far too
much. She was still Zhuang’s
prisoner, and only the day before she had been subjected to the most painful
torture. She dropped her eyes,
wondering what Zhuang’s reaction might be.
“So, you think you might still be alive by then?” Zhuang
asked. “Perhaps you will,
but only if you agree to my proposition.”
Li Mei felt a chill although the room was comfortably
warm. What did Zhuang have in
mind for her? She was completely
within his power. Why had he
dressed her like a whore? Out
of the corner of her eye she could see the escort that had taken her from
the cell. There was no chance
of escape. Was she to be raped
and humiliated again? Perhaps
he was going to put her on the rack
again. That thought started her
trembling. She was so
afraid. That session
with Jahlen had broken her will to
resist. She raised her eyes
expectantly knowing that she would have to do anything he asked of
her.
“I require an alliance,” said
Zhuang.
“A very close
alliance.” His eyes
swept over her, drinking in her charms.
His meaning was unmistakable.
Li Mei took a deep breath. “A
close alliance, you say.” She
gave him a glance from under her lashes.
“Surely you are not proposing marriage, Zhuang
Zhijian?” She forced a playful
smile to flicker across her lips.
Zhuang laughed.
“Marriage?
Hardly.
But a sexual liaison might be
interesting. I also have need
of your special talents. I am
afraid my inquisitor, the lovely Jahlen became
a bit overly ambitious. She is
being disciplined and I could use someone to replace
her.” His thick lips twisted
in a false smile. He didn’t
mind telling the Black Leopard what had happened to the woman who had tortured
her; it would serve as a warning that any bargain struck between the two
of them was not to be broken.
“She is still alive,” asked Li Mei, “and in the
building?”
Zhuang nodded. He seemed to have
caught the Black Leopard’s interest.
For a few long seconds the Black Leopard was
silent. She seemed to be
thinking. Zhuang popped another
pickled quail’s egg into his mouth.
“What do you want of me?” she
asked. He mouth was suddenly
so dry that she had difficulty forming the
words. She picked up a porcelain
teacup and sipped delicately at it, trying to disguise her
fear. She was desperate to escape
from Zhuang’s clutches, but knew that if she were to do so she would
probably have to debase herself.
She understood why she had been forced to dress like a
whore. Zhuang intended to use
her as one. It was to be part
of the bargain.
Zhuang watched the Black Leopard lazily as he reached for a jar of
swallow’s tongues. He spread
them thinly on a rice cracker as he
waited. He could almost see the
wheels turning inside the exotic beauty’s head as she considered her
options. He knew that as soon
as she got the chance she would turn against
him. But in the meantime, she
might be a pleasant diversion.
“I want you to agree to join my
organization. You will have two
functions. You will replace
Jahlen as my
inquisitor. And you will submit
to me sexually.”
Li Mei caught her breath. The
thought of voluntarily having sex with Zhuang was so revolting that she actually
felt queasy. There was a leaden
feeling within her guts. She
hesitated, considering her alternatives.
Only a few yards away was the
rack. She was certain that if
she refused she would find herself strapped to it once
more. She
shuddered. Resignedly she realized
she was trapped. If she wanted
to escape she had no choice.
The Black Leopard raised her head and looked Zhuang in the
eye. He kept his face
straight. Anything that she told
him would be a lie.
“I’ll do it,” she said.
Zhuang could not suppress a triumphant
grin. “Well then, let us
begin,” he said.
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